Traditionally, in a typical mobile packet core network, service-related functions are dependent on limited underlying bandwidth, Quality of Service (QoS), network coverage. Such a dependency may impact a service scalability and availability for users with different service requirements.
With the ever increasing rise in network traffic, and the advent of technologies like Internet of Things (IoT), the limitations of the existing wireless communication networks, such as Fourth-Generation Long Term Evolution (4G LTE) have been exposed. For instance, the sharp rise in the number of devices using the services supported by the core networks of 4G LTE, the bandwidth requirements have risen proportionally. Consequently, because of the limited bandwidth available with such networks, the network congestion has increased and will worsen as more and more devices get connected under IoT. Further, due to sharing of the network bandwidth between an increased number of devices has led to reduced network throughput.
Additionally, the prescribed latency for connection and reconnection in Radio Access Network (RAN) of the current 4G LTE architecture is about 100 ms which is higher compared to the latency requirements for interactive devices and applications. With the increase in connected devices because of IoT, and increased user demand for higher data rate, 4G LTE and its ability to provide fast, highly responsive mobile data services, and a reduced latency will become more important. However, because 4G LTE network is based on Packet-Switched (PS) core network and it lacks native support for Circuit-Switched (CS), the minimum latency is high in such networks and are not suited for providing voice services and time-critical services that may be required by the IoT devices.
Further, due to increased number and diverse nature of IoT devices, number of service to be supported by the core network and the nature of such services will have to be adapted. At the same time, there is a need for a core network that manages the network resources for providing such diverse services optimally, and at the same time provides a guarantee of service while ensuring that the Quality of Service (QoS) parameters of available bandwidth, throughput, network latency, and the like, are enhanced proportionally to support the increased number of connected devices.